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Smell and Taste Disorders (Chemosensory Disorders)

What are smell and taste disorders?

The loss of the senses of smell (anosmia) and taste (ageusia) are the most common chemosensory disorders.

The reduced ability to smell (hyposmia) or to taste sweet, sour, bitter, or salty substances (hypogeusia) are also common.

In other disorders of the chemosenses, odors, tastes, or flavors may be misread or distorted, causing a person to detect an unpleasant odor or taste from something that is normally pleasant to taste or smell. These disorders are important because they can have a significant impact on quality of life and be a sign of underlying disease.

Smell disorders are serious because they damage the early warning system that can alert a person to such things as:

Fire

Poisonous fumes

Leaking gas

Spoiled food and beverages

Abnormalities in taste and smell can accompany or indicate the existence of diseases or conditions, such as:

Obesity

Diabetes

Hypertension

Malnutrition

Degenerative diseases of the nervous system, such as:

Parkinson's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Multiple sclerosis

What causes smell and taste disorders?

Although some people are born with chemosensory disorders, most are caused by: